Fine Wine: Seven Deadly Zins – good enough to please pope

Zinfandel is just plain fun. It has irrepressible jammy flavor, it stains your teeth purple (temporarily, thank goodness), and it brings out good humor in consumers and wine makers alike.

For proof of the good humor, look for Seven Deadly Zins 2007 ($17), an old vine zinfandel from Michael David Winery in Lodi, California.

Seven Deadly Zins is a serious wine in a fun-loving package. The front label features, you guessed it, the seven deadly sins.

When compiling the list of deadly sins in the late 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great probably did not have wine labels in mind. Still, I bet he would have liked this wine.

The label may cause you to buy the wine the first time, but the taste will keep you coming back for more.

Seven Deadly Zins is a good example of the Lodi style of zinfandel: bold, big and fruity. The wine has jammy aromas and ripe berry flavors accented with black pepper. The finish is smooth and silky despite the relatively high alcohol level (14.5 percent).

This is one of those zinfandels that pairs well with dark chocolate, so chocolate fans may want to pair it with dessert. Personally I prefer this wine with barbecue or pizza.

As an added bonus, Seven Deadly Zins keeps its flavor well. I recorked the bottle and kept it in the refrigerator (wine oxidizes more slowly at cool temperatures). Several days later, the wine was still fruity and delicious.